Dissecting Memory: Unravelling the Autobiographical Process Reaction Paper

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Brockmeier, J (in press). Dissecting memory: unravelling the autobiographical process. From:

Beyond the Archive: Memory, Narrative, and the Autobiographical Process. Oxford & New York: Oxford University Press.

The stories we tell about ourselves and how we remember events can have a profound effect upon our conceptions of 'the self.' Brockmeier's essay on "Dissecting memory" examines how fiction and autobiography can both shape self-perception. To analyze this concept, Brockmeier uses Ian McEwan's novel Saturday as a kind of case study, which makes the narrator's stream-of-consciousness about both mundane and important matters as its driving focus, more so than external events. Selective remembering and selective forgetting involve both cognitive and psychological factors: memory is a neurological process, but emotions also affect how and what we remember. Forgetting is not necessarily a 'bad' thing: it can enable us to experience things afresh when we revisit them, versus solely dwelling in negative aspects of the past.

I found this essay particularly interesting because of the extent to which it highlighted the different ways I have told my own story -- to myself and to others -- in the past. There are a number of various elements to my character: I am a friend, student, and a child, depending on my relationship with the individual to whom I am speaking.

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This positional identity often affects how I see myself and therefore what I remember and what I forget when I am speaking and interacting with someone. Experiences can seem (and probably are) very disconnected but by telling a story, an individual is able to create a coherent sense of meaning and identity from these seemingly random bits of memory.

This idea can be very empowering: if we are the creators of our own autobiographies that means we can consciously change ourselves for the better by telling new stories. For example, if I have a very negative self-concept about myself regarding a particular issue (such as the idea that I am 'bad at math') simply by changing the narrative I tell about myself and remembering different, more positive recollections, I can create a new sense of identity.

Schraube, E. & Marvakis, A. (2015). Frozen fluidity: Digital technology and the transformation of students' learning and conduct of everyday life. In E. Schraube and C. Hojholt (Eds.), Psychology and the conduct of everyday life. London: Routledge.

Digital technology has become ubiquitous in the modern classroom: even traditional classrooms….....

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"Dissecting Memory Unravelling The Autobiographical Process" (2015, February 02) Retrieved June 4, 2026, from
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"Dissecting Memory Unravelling The Autobiographical Process", 02 February 2015, Accessed.4 June. 2026,
https://www.aceyourpaper.com/essays/dissecting-memory-unravelling-autobiographical-2149139
   

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